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Rebirth through Fire: Building Self-confidence and Identity

Part 2 Dissertation 2012
Ellen Palmer
 University of Portsmouth | UK
This written thesis intends to investigate the advancements in burns healthcare in the UK during the two World Wars and what legacy it has left today. Evidence shows that historically, as doctors struggled to care for men, major advancements were made in the medical and psychological arena due to the sheer number of patients contracting severe burns. Surgical advancements made in World War 1 were the foundations, which led to the major discoveries during World War 2. What should we learn from these accomplishments that have changed the face of British burns healthcare today? This thesis will evaluate the success and importance of the evolution of surgical and psychological care during the World Wars, which aimed to rebuild patient self-confidence and identity.

The UK became world leader specialising in burns healthcare due to the pioneering surgical and psychological care of burns patients during World War 2. This thesis aims to uncover why and how the UK has lost this status today. Enquiries reveal that there is a severe lack in the NHS burns service and that improvements must be made in order to gain back this status. This research will enable an informed decision to be made regarding the provision for post-hospitalisation care and how the UK can regain this status of world leader.

In order to interrogate this question thoroughly research will cover; the initial treatments of burns healthcare in a military setting: the surgical advancements made through the World Wars with the aim to restore identity: the development of specialised burn units: and the psychological effects burn injuries can have on a victim’s self-confidence.
Ellen Palmer
Tutor(s)
Dr Elizabeth-Marie Tuson
Tina Wallbridge
2012
Sir Archibald McIndoe's saline bath – Source: Emily Mayhew, The Reconstruction of Warriors (London: Greenhill Books, 2004), p. 99.
Dressings being removed in the saline bath at East Grinstead under a stream of saline – Source: Leonard Mosley, Faces from the Fire (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1962), p. 97.
Cotton-wool swabs cleanse the eyes, ears, nose and mouth of the patient – Source: L. Mosley, op. cit., p. 97.
Rows of plaster casts of masks in progress in Ladd's studio – Source: Caroline Alexander, ?Faces of War', Smithsonian Magazine, (February 2007) from Anna Coleman Ladd papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute.
Ladd perfecting mask-making in her studio – Source: ibid.
Hospital admission photograph of V Topping – Source: Retrieved: November 10, 2011 from http://www.projectfacade.com/index.php?/case/C83/
Photograph of V Topping's skin grafts healing – Source: ibid.
Hospital admission photograph of W Vicarage – Source: Retrieved: November 10, 2011 from http://www.projectfacade.com/index.php?/case/C84/
Photograph of W Vicarage's skin grafts healing – Source: ibid.
The Guinea Pig patients with Gillies surgical method, the pedicle tubes – Source: E. Mayhew, op. cit., p. 101.
McIndoe in theatre, observed by trainee surgeons, orderlies and nurses – Source: ibid., p. 97.
Diagram showing the functional distribution of space in the ?McIndoe Burn Centre' – Source: Made by Author for this thesis, 2011.
Diagram showing the concept for the functional distribution of space in burn centres today – Source: Made by Author for this thesis, 2011.
Ward 3 was home to McIndoes' Guinea Pigs through their hospitalised recovery – Retrieved: October 27, 2011 from http://www.qvh.nhs.uk/assets/Heritage%20photos.pdf
Christmas celebrations in Ward 3 – Source: E. Mayhew, op. cit., p. 104.
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